And Then There Were Nightmares
by Attila12
Summary: My name is Darkrai. Most know me as the King of Nightmares, the bringer of terror. I'm used to it all now and have numbed myself to most of the pain, but I haven't always been numb. Maybe that's what made my first nightmare ever given so... painful.


**_Okay, I know it's been awhile, so my writing may be a bit rusty. ^^' Sorry if it sucks... Oh, and I think this is probably my longest oneshot yet. :D Anyway... for this story all the legends are children except for Arceus and Giratina. Oh, and of course Mewtwo and Deoxys, who haven't shown up yet. ^^ Italics are for dream sequences and the narration Darkrai gives in the beginning._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon._**

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_My_ _name is Darkrai. Most people know me as the King of Nightmares, the bringer of terror. My fellow legends know me as a dark lone wolf. My friends know me as a tortured soul with emotional barriers made of brick. These are all accurate descriptions of me and they have been accurate for longer than I bother to keep track of. I'm pretty much used to it all now. I've managed to numb myself from most of the pain. But I haven't always been numb and those descriptions haven't always been so accurate. Maybe that's what made my first nightmare ever given as painful as it was..._

-ooo-

"Hey, Cressie! What's going on?" I asked as I looked around. Everybody was gathering around Arceus's throne. I knew she was probably going to give some kind of announcement, but I didn't know what about.

My sister giggled, ducking her head and covering her mouth with her magenta paws before bringing it back up to gaze at me with an amused expression on her face. "Oh, Darky! You silly ghost, were you daydreaming again?" she asked before giving another giggle.

I felt my face heat up a bit as I brought a clawed hand up to scratch sheepishl at the back of my head. "Uh, kinda."

Cresselia rolled her eyes, her smile never leaving her face. "Well, Gira said that Arcy wanted to talk to us about our rolls."

"You mean, like bread or something?" I asked, my confusion evident in my voice. This caused my sister to burst into another giggle fit, which only confused me even further.

"She means rolls as in jobs. Like the block picker-upper and the dish-dryer. I think Arceus is going to tell us what we're going to do when we get bigger," Uxie spoke up from where she was sitting nearby.

"Oh! That's awesome! I wonder what we're all gonna be! You're smart Uxie, so you'll probably be some kind of question answerer. Cressie will probably be some kind of artist. Or maybe a singer. She has a pretty singing voice. I don't know what I could be, but I hope it's something fun like digging holes! Oh, I'm so excited that-!"

"Darkrai, could you please stop talking so I can tell you all what I need to tell you?" Arceus asked as she climbed up on to her throne.

My face became heated once again as I quickly brought my claws up to cover my mouth and took a seat beside the blue and yellow swan that I call my sister. "Sorry, Arcy," I mumbled through my claws.

Arceus shot a glare at Giratina, who had just arrived. He replied to the glare with a shrug and a grin, causing Arceus to roll her emerald eyes. "You're forgiven, Darkrai," she said before straightening her posture and clearing her throat. "Now, you were all created with a particular roll intended for you. I wanted to inform you all that I will begin to introduce you to those rolls. Starting today I will individually tell you what you're going to be assigned and give you a little introduction. That's all for now. Articuno, you're first. Please follow me and we'll get started."

-ooo-

"Cressie! You're back! What did Arcy tell you? What are you gonna be doing? What did you do? Please tell me! I think I'm gonna explode!" I cried as I flew over and quickly began to fly speedy circles around the grinning swan.

"Darky, you silly ghost! Calm down a bit and I'll tell you!" she replied with a laugh.

I slowed to a stop and plopped myself down in front of her, my tail wagging with excitement as I waited for her to tell me.

She smiled. She was almost always amused by my tail and thought it was hilarious how it would wag when I was happy or excited, like I was right then. "I'm going to be the Queen of Dreams! That means that I'm going to make people see these really awesome things when they're asleep. Like they'll temporarily be able to fly or find mountains made of ice cream. Then I got to give a dream to this sleeping human kid and he smiled in his sleep! It was so cool! I love my job!" she told me, her smile growing bigger and bigger as she talked.

I grinned with her. "That's awesome, Cress! See, I told you you'd be some kind of an artist and that sure seems like art! It also sounds like it's probably one of the awesomest ones I've heard so far! I hope I get a cool one like that! I can't wait to find out what mine is!" My happiness and excitement then turned into a frustrated groan. "How come I'm the last to find out?! It's not fair!"

I heard a sigh from behind me and turned around to see who it was. I was a bit surprised when the sigher turned out to be Giratina. He was usually a pretty happy guy. He saw me watching him, a questioning look on my face, and smiled in a strange way. Almost like a sad smile. Weird...

"Hey, little buddy," he said, reaching out a wing and pulling me into a hug.

I blinked in surprise before smiling. "Let me go!" I told him with a laugh as I squirmed against his wings and neck.

He chuckled and did as I said, causing me to tumble in the air from my own movements. I righted myself and laughed. He seemed to think this was kinda funny and laughed along softly with me.

"Don't worry, you'll get your assignment soon enough. Oh, and it was my idea to give you yours last. I wanted to see if you really were going to explode," he said with a smirk.

"You meanie!" I laughed, only half meaning it as I tossed a punch at his colossal neck. I knew there was no way I could actually hurt something his size. Maybe when I was older, but not right then.

"Just remember, Darky, not every job that must be done is a fun one," he told me as I threw another punch.

I glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" my sister spoke up from behind me as she floated closer to us.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by something I've been waiting to hear all week.

"Darkrai, it's your turn! Follow me and I'll show you what you were created to do," Arceus called from the doorway.

"I'm coming!" I called back happily. "Bye!" I said to Cresselia and Giratina as I flew to catch up with Arceus.

"Bye, Darky! Have fun!" the swan called after me.

"Good luck, little guy," Giratina added.

I gave them one last glance before rushing out to follow Arceus and discover my purpose for creation. I could have sworn I saw a single tear run down Giratina's cheek as I left.

-ooo-

"Darkrai, you were created to fulfill the roll of nightmare giver. You are going to become the King of Nightmares and will give them on new moons," Arceus informed me as we headed down one of the lesser streets of a village. She was shielding us from the view of the people who were out. It was dark and kinda cloudy, so there weren't very many out, but she wanted to be safe. I thought it was rather pointless. Humans don't have night vision like I do and the moon wasn't even out to help them see.

"That sounds cool and all, but what exactly are 'nightmares'?" I inquired as I watched the shadows move on the ground.

"Well, nightmares are a lot like dreams really. Only they often invoke caution and help people to recognize their fears where dreams invoke hope and help people recognize their desires," she replied as we came to a stop in front of on the the homes that belonged to the humans.

I tilted my head to the side a bit. "I don't get it."

"You will soon," she assured before teleporting us inside.

I blinked and looked around. We were in a small room. Arceus had to duck her head a bit to avoid scraping it on the ceiling. There was a bed with a young girl sleeping in it nearby. I floated closer to get a better look. She wasn't much smaller than me, probably around eight or nine years old. She had long, curly, brown hair and freckled dotting her fair skinned face. I turned my head so that I could see Arceus. "What do I do, Arcy?" I asked in a hushed voice so that the human girl wouldn't be disturbed.

"Hold out your hands and focus on chaneling your power through them and into her," she whispered back.

I nodded and held out my arms as directed before closing my eyes to concentrate. We'd practiced on this before, so I had a general idea of what I was doing. I imagined my power flowing to my arms like rain water to a stream. Then I imagined it running through my arms and pouring out before soaking into the girl. As I imagined it, I could swear I could feel it as well.

"Very good, Darkrai. You can stop now," Arceus told me quietly.

I smiled and opened my eyes to see what was happening. My smile quickly turned into a frown. The girl was moving a bit now and the expression on her face appeared to be one of fear and distress. _'What happened?'_ I wondered as I reached out a clawed hand to try and wake her up. She looked really upset and I wanted to try and make her feel better.

"No, Darkrai. Don't do anything to comfort her or awaken her. That's what was supposed to happen," I heard Arceus whisper.

"B-but she-!"

"No, she's having a nightmare. That's supposed to happen. She's probably seeing herself or someone she cares for being chased or hurt by a monster of some kind. That's how most nightmares work. Or, at least that's how I intend most of them to work. You see, before you and Cresselia initiated your powers, there were not dreams or nightmares. Now that you've activated them, your very existence will cause them to occur. But the ones given specifically by you will be much more intense. That was why you were created. So that people could experience their fears and danger while asleep and to balance the hopes and desires presented by dreams," Arceus explained.

I felt my shoulders sag a bit as her words sunk in. "So, I was created to torment people as they sleep?"

Arceus nodded. "Yes. I know that it seems terrible, but it's a necessary evil. Without nightmares, there can be no dreams and people need dreams to give them hope while they need nightmares to show them possible dangers. Now, let's head back to the Hall."

I sighed and gave the girl one last glance before being teleported back into the dark, moonless night. Oh how I wished I could have comforted her as the last image of her tear streaked face remained in my mind the whole trip home.

-ooo-

_I looked around wildly, trying to find some sign of something, anything. I could feel my heart pounding fiercely against my ribcage as it vigorously pumped the blood that now roared through my veins. I was in a black void. I couldn't see a thing despite my night vision, but a feeling of imminent danger loomed ominously over me. It was almost as if my very soul was shuddering._

_Just then, I heard something walking up behind me. I spun around to see what it was. I was surprised to see the brown haired human girl standing behind me with tears in her eyes._

_"Why? Why did you hurt me? I never did anything to you," she whimpered._

_I wanted so badly to hug her and apologize and explain why I did what I did, but my body wouldn't obey. The only words that came from my mouth were insults and ones of sadistic enjoyment of her pain. "I did it because it's fun to watch you squirm and tremble in terror. Oh, you weak, pathetic excuse of a creature, I hope all of your nightmares come true."_

_'_Noooo!'_ I cried out in my mind as I desperately tried to regain control of my own body. I felt like crying along with that poor little girl. Finally, I managed to move my arm and tears began to form in the corners of my eyes. But before I could do a thing to comfort the sobbing human child, I began to fall. Everything was black and empty once again as I fell through the void._

_A few moments later I slammed into what must have been the floor, knocking the wind from my lungs and causing me to cry out in pain. It wasn't a very loud sound due to the lack of air, but it seemed to echo on and on. I moved to sit up, gasping to refill my lungs. Once I was upright, I brought my arm up to wipe the tears of pain, terror and sorrow from my cyan eyes. When I opened them again, a huge white monster stood in front of me. It kinda looked like Arceus, but it was much too demonic looking and terrifying to be her. The beast leered at me with narrowed green eyes._

_"Wh-wh-what are y-you g-going to d-do to me, m-m-monster?" I asked, my voice trembling in the same manner my body was._

_It opened its mouth and made a sound that was a disturbing cross between a roar and laughter. "Who's the monster here? You are the one who's very meaning of existence is to cause pain, fear and sadness to others. You are the one who strikes when his victims are asleep and defenceless. Really, people would be better off with you dead!"_

_I felt my heart sink and tears fill my eyes again at the harsh words. "Then kill me!" I cried out, the pain in my heart almost too much to bear._

_"Oh, but that would be too easy. Only a coward runs away, so I guess that makes you a coward, huh?" it sneered, bringing its head down to hover menacingly above me. "You see, if you died, Arceus would simply make another nightmare giver. Are you really going to put that pain on the shoulders of some other poor soul?"_

_"N-no!" I cried as realization sunk in._

_"Well then, I guess you'll just have to continue your pitiful existence then, you little monster," it said, bringing its head down and lightly grabbing hold of the skin on my arm with its teeth. It smirked as it bit down, sinking its serrated fangs through my skin._

_I screamed in agony as my blood ran down my arm and soaked into my fur. I tried to tear my arm away from the beast, but that caused my arm to get ripped up even more. I screamed again. The pain was unbearable. I thought I was going to throw up._

_Just then, I caught sight of a golden haired angel with black wings and a gray robe._

_"Help!" I called out to it, holding out my other claw in a desperate attempt to have it save me._

_The angel simply watched with sad, ruby eyes as the monster tore my arm apart. "Please! Please, help me!" I called again, tears leaving streaks of moisture on my face as they poured from my eyes._

_The angel turned its back on me._

"NOOO!!" I cried as my eyes snapped open. I sat up quickly and looked around wildly. The monster was nowhere to be seen and my arm was whole again. I was back in my room. I sucked in deep, calming breaths as I tried to calm my throbbing heart and hugged my Shuppet plushy, Ebony, to my chest. After a few moments of doing so, I finally realized what had happened.

"Well, of course. I mean, it wouldn't make sense for the King of Nightmares to have nice dreams, now would it?" I whispered bitterly to Ebony as I tightened my grip on her and bit my lip to hold in the salty tears that were once again stinging my eyes.

"One thing's for sure Ebony. That monster was right. I don't want this to happen to anyone else. I also don't want anyone to cause themselves pain by pitying me. Which means that I can't really talk to them about this, can I?" I said with a sigh, gently stroking the plushy's head with one of my clawed fingers. "Now I know why Giratina had me go last. He was trying to protect me for as long as possible. But it sure crushed all that built up enthusiasm when the day finally came. It was pointless really. He couldn't protect me forever, huh Ebony? I wish he could have given me more warning and prepared me a bit more, but then again, it isn't about me at all anymore, is it? No, those days are over. I'm nothing more than a monster now. A monster that I have to protect the others from..."

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**_Well, I hoped you all liked it. Did you like the symbolism of the dream (er, nightmare) sequence? Sorry if you're sad or depressed now, but I've been meaning to write this little angst burger for quite a while now. ^^ Please review!_**


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